Random Rant Thread

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I mean, I understand the tactic of what we Japanese call ほめ殺し homegoroshi (= killing your opponent by excessively praising/hyping them up) sometimes does work, but there's something super unhealthy and almost Freudian about some of the fiercely anti-Putin pundits, and Julia is a prime example.

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Holy shit, whatever happened to our beloved high society clown Tom "Suck on it, Iraqis!" Friedman?!

Everyone has a moment of clarity every once in a while, I guess. Broken clock hitting the mark twice a day, etc.

This Is Putin’s War. But America and NATO Aren’t Innocent Bystanders.
by THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/opinion/putin-ukraine-nato.html

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In case you are wondering, all the US presidents since Daddy Bush have made errors on the former USSR issue (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, etc.), but it's mostly Bill Clinton and his team that absolutely fucked the shit up and paved the way to this, and something potentially worse ahead.

And a LOT of those neolibs who are responsible for this are still alive and influencing our governments.

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I must admit that Biden has been doing well since the invasion. Doesn't make up for the horribleness leading up to it in my book, but I shudder to think how Team Trump, or Team Clinton too for that matter, would've managed it.

But that won't do shit for his polling numbers, needless to say. Few Americans have any clue about any of this. For many of them we are where we are because "Biden was too soft".

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The P4P best fighters/soldiers in the world have arrived.

I don't think they will be able to change the course of the events in any significant way, but these men are completely different from the regular ethnic Russian twenty-something troops. Just a different class.

Reportedly the most difficult operations in Syria were done by Chechens too.

Chechens' neighbors like Dagestanis and Ossets may produce better kickboxers, judokas, sambists, etc., but as soldiers, these guys know what they are doing.

The Azov battalion don't keep provoking Chechens out of cockiness, but out of fear. 

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OK, so the most heroic story so far on the Ukrainian side has turned out to be a lie. But you shouldn't be shocked by stuff like this. This is a war. People make up stories, on both sides. Because people need good stories, for morale.

Just don't believe everything that you hear, or see. Or, you know what, do. Do believe the things that you see and like. But keep away while you do that.

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I'm absolutely in no mood to celebrate the Russian military clearly failing to achieve even the small intermediate goals, because it's usually around this phase where you start hearing about a lot of civilian casualties.

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At this point I'm beginning to believe what bol said, about Covid playing a big part. I mean, I'm looking at Putin discussing economy now, and that fucking long-ass table does seem to symbolize where Putin's head is at. Covid really ruined a lot of things in Russia, and Putin's state of mind, even on the most personal level, may be indeed one of them.

[K1power]

Africans trying to flee Ukraine complain of being blocked and of racist treatment



www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/africans-trying-to-flee-ukraine-complain-of-being-blocked-and-of-racist-treatment-1.4813571

Hope the shitstains responsible for this are the first ones to receive headshots.

War truly brings out the worst in those cretins, regardless which side we're talking.

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This:

The Russians badly miscalculated, but they are vastly more capable as a force than you have seen so far. The morale has been extremely low, and it's evident that many of the Russian soldiers simply don't want to fight, and everything has been half-baked. But that can change.

And no matter what Ukrainians say, the Russian troops have been restrained, careful with civilians so far. But that can change too.

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If any of you think the Chinese like this development, I really have a bridge to sell, so give me a private message.

That whole nonsense a typical manifestation of the Orientalist view the West has on China.

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Alexander Dugin is one of the few people who truly influenced Putin geopolitically and philosophically, and one of his main theses is that global events/incidents are mostly driven by the "Anglo-Saxon" desire to dominate all the rest.

And by "Anglo-Saxon" he means the US and UK. Yes, the UK too.

The Chinese often mention the sinister "Anglo-Saxon" plots too, but that almost always means the US, and all the others, including the UK and Australia, are just cheerleading flunkies as far as they are concerned.

That's why Putin treat the "Anglo-Saxons" and others such as France, Italy and even Germany very differently. And ironically his demonizing the UK raises the profile of the UK as a major power. It's actually a boon for the country. Just think about it. Who else does that? No one. It's always just Russia that does that.

That's why I find it pathological that so many of Putin's "business leaders" are such Anglo-Brit fanboys. Why do they idolize England so much, in such a twisted way? Due to some old historical memories? God knows.

Anyway, Dugin is an existentialist, and a borderline *solipsist*. And that's extremely bad news for the whole world. He wouldn't even mind the end of the objective world.

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This is what Americans - and to a lesser extent Russians - tend not to understand. There are things that bullies can't see.

Mexico and other Central American countries - plus even Canada - have been appeasing or at least trying to appease the US for decades, or even longer.

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Matty is right. You really should turn off the TV.

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I have a (late) relative who got to know USMC Lt. Pat Robertson during the Korean War, as Robertson spent most of his time during the war in Japan (to avoid combat, of course).

He called the American "the worst Yank I've ever known."